The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) means 32 million newly insured Americans will be entering the health care system. This makes addressing the nation’s physician shortage—projected to climb to more than 90,000 by 2020—more important than ever. Additional residency slots and increased funding for doctor training will ensure that Americans have access to care, not just an insurance card.

AAMC staff have prepared the following initial analysis of the Court’s decision.We will provide more information, particularly on the ruling’s implications for the law’s Medicaid expansion, in the coming days.

This morning's decision from the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act ensures that millions of Americans will now have access to health insurance. The decision also ensures that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) can continue its important work.

ACA Resources

The AAMC Jan. 6 joined several hospital associations in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court on the first of several issues set for argument on the Affordable Care Act. The brief addresses the issue of “severability.”

Dec. 2010Federal district court in Virginia rejects ACA from a case brought forward by the state of Virginia, ruling that the individual mandate is unconstitutional

March 2010President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act into law

About AAMC

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 141 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools, nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies.

Our Mission

The AAMC serves and leads the academic medicine community to improve the health of all.